Pickering Panthers fall to top teams

Lose 6-3 to Trenton and 9-7 to Aurora

Oshawa This Week

PICKERING -- On paper, the expectations weren't that high for the Pickering Panthers on the weekend.

Sitting at the bottom of the North East Conference, the Panthers were up against the top two teams in Trenton and Aurora, and the outcome was predictable, though the scores were fairly close. The Panthers were doubled 6-3 by Trenton on Friday and edged 9-7 by Aurora on Sunday.

On Friday, the Panthers actually had a 3-1 lead early in the second period, but Trenton, one of the top-ranked teams in the country, rallied from its slumber, scoring once in the second to close the gap to 3-2, then potted the only four goals of the third for the 6-3 win.

Sean Levac scored twice and Nicholas Lepone had the other for the Panthers, who were outshot 33-17 on the night. Special teams played a huge role in the outcome, as three of the four Trenton goals in the third period came courtesy of power plays. The Panthers were tagged with 34 minutes in penalties, compared to just eight by Trenton.

A similar pattern evolved on home ice Sunday, as the Panthers held leads of 3-1, 4-2, 5-4 and 6-5, and were even tied 7-7 with just over six minutes to go before falling 9-7 to Aurora.

Both teams replaced their starting goaltenders during the goal-fest, with Aurora finishing the night with 41 shots against the tandem of Conor Barrie and JP Cesario, while the Panthers had 29.

Andrew McCann scored twice for the Panthers, with singles by Tanner Bull, Micah Nichols, Lepone, John Woolsey and Brodie Tutton. Three of the Panthers goals came on the power play, while Aurora had two of their own with the man advantage.

The Panthers take a 13-35-4 record into the final weekend of the regular season with games in Lindsay on Friday, Aurora Saturday, and close out with a home game Sunday against Pickering at 6:30 p.m. at the Pickering Recreation Complex.